Baptist Church Sued for Not Stopping Staffer from Sexually Assaulting Girl

UNITED STATES
Patheos

July 11, 2020

By Hemant Mehta

Last year, 43-year-old James Hook was found in the back of a car, underneath a blanket, with a 15-year-old girl. The description of what happened made it clear he had sexually assaulted her. Separate from that, he had given her a ring symbolizing who-knows-what about their “relationship.” He was eventually sentenced to six months in jail followed by 4.5 years of probation.

All of that is disturbing enough. Now here’s the additional twist: Hook worked at Bellevue Baptist Church, one of the largest churches in the Southern Baptist Convention, as a paid volunteer coordinator. The 15-year-old girl was one of the volunteers.

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